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The Shakespeare Code (TV story)
The Shakespeare Code 'is the second episode of the third series of ''Doctor Who. It was written by Gareth Roberts, directed by Charles Palmer and featured David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor and Freema Agyeman as Martha Jones. Overview To be added Synopsis On their first trip together, the Doctor transports Martha Jones to 1599 London where they go to the Globe Theatre and meet William Shakespeare who announces on stage that they will perform his new play, Love's Labour's Won. As history doesn't record such a play having ever been found, the Doctor knows that something is amiss. The Doctor soon discovers that three witches, the last of the Carronites, are casting spells and using the power of words to revive their kind. Fortunately, the Doctor and Martha have someone on their side who also has a unique ability with the English language. Plot London, 1599; a young man named Wiggins serenades the item of his affection, an attractive woman named Lilith from beneath her balcony with a sonnet on his lute. Appreciating his desire of her, Lilith beckons him inside her home. On the inside, however, the room is decorated with various black magic artifacts and Wiggins is alarmed but Lilith soothingly pulls him into a kiss. When she pulls away, to Wiggin's horror, she's transformed into a witch. Calling forth her 'parents' Mothers Doomfinger and Bloodtide, who advance on a terrified Wiggins and tear him to pieces. In amidst his screams, Lilith proclaims that the Earth will soon perish. In the TARDIS, Martha bombards the Doctor with questions about how the ship works and comments him on the quality of his piloting before they land and step out into the streets of London in 1599. Martha is absolutely amazed by having travelled through time but cautiously cites grandfather paradoxes and the butterfly effect as well as addressing the issue of racial slavery, but the Doctor insists she not worry about it. Having landed on the river by Southwark, the Doctor elatedly spots that they are close to the Globe Theatre and he and Martha go and be audience to a performance of Love's Labour's Lost. The audience beckon for the author and William Shakespeare elaborately presents himself before the masses all the while Lilith sits in the theatre, dressed as royalty, chanting incantations with a puppet. Before Shakespeare announces the performance of his next play, Love's Labour's Won, Lilith uses the puppet to take control of his mind and he announces the play for the following evening, to the bewilderment of his cast. On their way out, the Doctor recounts no mention of Love's Labour's Won ever having been performed; reports prove it exists as one of Shakespeare's works but was never performed. With a newly-peaked curiosity, the Doctor decides to hold off on taking Martha home as he'd intended until after he finds out the truth and they go off to find Shakespeare. At the Elephant Inn where Shakespeare is sequestered, the fatigued penman and his actors, Dick and Kempe are tended to by the landlady and Shakespeare's lover Dolly Bailey; Lilith, disguised as a handmaiden, assists her. While Dick considers Shakespeare's declaration mad as the play isn't finished, the Doctor and Martha arrive. While initially dismissive, Shakespeare is quickly attracted to Martha and the actors leave. The Doctor offers their credentials using the psychic paper but Shakespeare sees right through it. As they talk, they are interrupted by the arrival of Mr. Lynley, the Master of the Revels, who is furious about the announcement of Love's Labour's Won's abrupt and unpermitted performance and when Shakespeare doesn't hand him the script (on account of not having finished it), Lynley declares the performance cancelled and the play barred from being shown at the Globe before leaving. On his way out, Lilith discreetly takes a lock of his hair and psychically converses with Doomfinger and Bloodtide. Tying Lynley's hair to the puppet, Lilith douses it in a bucket of water and Lynley starts choking on the very same water as he's walking. Hearing the screams, the Doctor and Martha arrive to watch Lynley collapse as Lilith stops his heart with the doll. On examination, they discover his lungs to be full of water but the Doctor gives Dolly Bailey a cover story so as to not cause a panic over the witchcraft that caused it. Lilith returns to her loft and Doomfinger and Bloodtide give her a concoction to take control of Shakespeare. At the Inn, the Doctor and Martha are given a room to stay in while Shakespeare continues to write the play in his office. While he works, Lilith cracks open the window and releases the fumes of the potion into the room, knocking Shakespeare unconscious; using a stringed puppet, Lilith controls his body and has his hand write the last part of the script to her desire. As she finishes, Dolly Bailey walks in on her and Lilith's true appearance makes her heart give out while she flies off on her broom, Martha watching as she does it. The following morning, Shakespeare mourns Dolly Bailey while remembering from Martha's claims that the architect for the Globe, Peter Streete also spoke of seeing witches. Thinking the answer to be connected to the theatre, the three go there but the Doctor, still confused by the 14-sided shape of the Globe, decides to go and speak to Streete, but Shakespeare tells him that he lost his mind a month after completion of the theatre and was admitted to Bedlam. On their way out, Shakespeare gives the last copies of his script to Ralph and tells him to pass them around and rehearse. While the Doctor, Martha and Shakespeare make haste to Bedlam, the actors rehearse the lines, the last paragraph calling forth a specter in front of them when it promptly vanishes in front of them. They decide to keep it to themselves or else wind up in Bedlam themselves. Elsewhere, the witches sense the rehearsal and watch the entire occurrence, cackling to themselves. Meanwhile, the Doctor, Martha and Shakespeare are escorted to Streete's cell in Bedlam. While waiting, Shakespeare recalls losing his son to the Black Death and losing his mind only to be restored to sanity by the fear of being admitted there. The Doctor uses telepathy to get through to Streete and manages to get him to tell him about the significance of the Globe's design and where he saw the witches, all the while Lilith, who was also connected to Streete, sends Doomfinger to stop them. As Streete tells the Doctor he'd seen them at All Hallow's Street, Doomfinger appears in the cell and kills him with a single touch, stopping his heart. While Martha attempts crying out for help, the Doctor deduces her origins from the 14 stars of the Rexel Planetary Configuration and declares her name 'Carrionite' causing her to disappear. While the Doctor explains the Carrionites as a race that use words as a form of science like humans use mathematics, Doomfinger returns to the others, pained and weak, Lilith proclaims the Doctor to be a threat and decides that he has to be eliminated. Back at the Inn, Shakespeare recalls not remember writing the ending of Love's Labour's Won and the Doctor realises that they used his writing genius to turn the play into a weapon. That evening, as the play begins it's first act, the Doctor formulates a plan to stop the Carrionites at All Hallow's Street and sends Shakespeare to stop the performance. As the play proceeds, Shakespeare storms onto the stage and calls off the play but the Carrionites knock him unconscious and the cast just pass it off as a drunken stupor before they carry on. At All Hallow's Street, the Doctor and Martha find the Carrionite's lair with Lilith waiting inside for them. When the use of the name fails to dispel Lilith, she uses the same trick on Martha and downs her. The Doctor confronts her and coaxes her into revealing that she and the other Carrionites were banished years ago before Shakespeare's grief over his son's loss lead him to write new words that ensured their release and that the performance of Love's Labour's Won would restore all the others. Snatching a lock of the Doctor's hair for the doll, she takes out one of the Doctor's heart and escapes. Once Martha reawakens, she restarts his other heart and they take off after her. While they run to the Globe, Lilith joins Doomfinger and Bloodtide as the final lines are spoken and the Globe starts converting the Carrionite's energy and the portal opens as the other Carrinoite legions start coming through. The Doctor and Martha arrive and bring Shakespeare onto the stage while the Carrionite's continue to emerge. Using the Carrionite's science against them, on the Doctor's instruction, Shakespeare improvises a verse that counteracts the final lines of the play. Concluding the verse with "Expelliarmus" (initially by Martha citing J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter which she and the Doctor had been talking about the previous night), the Carrionite's are sucked back into the portal along with all the copies of Love's Labour's Won. The audience applaud in amazement at the performance as the Doctor, Martha and Shakespeare take their bows. The following morning, the Doctor and Martha prepare to leave, with the Doctor taking the Carrionites' crystal ball that they wound up getting trapped inside, while Shakespeare reveals that he had deduced the Doctor's extraterrestrial origins as well as Martha's being from the future. On their way out, Ralph announces to Shakespeare of the Queen as Elizabeth I enters the theatre. The Doctor is delighted to meet her but she declares him her sworn enemy and orders him executed. He and Martha run from the guards while Shakespeare laughs at the whole situation. Hurrying back to the TARDIS, the Doctor ponders on what he'll eventually do to upset the Queen but is excited to find out, vanishing inside just as a guard's arrow strikes the TARDIS door. Cast * The Doctor - David Tennant * Martha Jones - Freema Agyeman * Shakespeare - Dean Lennox Kelly * Lilith - Christina Cole * Wiggins - Sam Marks * Doomfinger - Amanda Lawrence * Bloodtide - Linda Clark * Dick - Jalaal Hartley * Kempe - David Westhead * Dolly Bailey - Andrée Bernard * Lynley - Chris Larkin * Jailer - Stephen Marcus * Peter Streete - Matt King * Preacher - Robert Demeger * Queen Elizabeth - Angela Pleasence Crew To be added References To be added Story Notes To be added Continuity To be added Home video and audio releases To be added External Links * Official ''The Shakespeare Code'' page on '''Doctor Who Website